One of Kenyon's largest departments, English, lacks a sufficient amount of accessible space. The department has 26 professors and graduates an average of 68 majors a year. Sunset Cottage squeezes 15 faculty offices and two seminar rooms into 4,700 square feet. The seminar room in the basement can only be reached by walking down 16 steps, and Sunset’s hallways limit access. The bathrooms are not handicap-accessible.
The College will preserve historic Sunset Cottage in its present location while construction of the West Quad occurs. Originally a private residence, the building began being used by the English Department in 1978. A use for Sunset after the completion of the West Quad has not been determined.
An elevator, modern bathrooms and an ADA-compliant stairway can be built within the existing Sunset Cottage, but it would require demolishing much of the interior. This was part of the necessity of moving faculty offices now within Sunset into a modern building.
The location of the two new buildings fits the scale of adjacent buildings (Bailey and Lentz) and the landscape on the west side of the Hill that faces Wiggin Street. The new building with two seminar rooms will specifically mimic the 1856 Sunset Cottage and even recreate the wood-paneled feel of Sunset’s Sutcliffe Seminar Room.
No. The construction of the West Quad is being supported by a $75 million gift to Kenyon — the biggest single gift given to a private liberal arts college in Ohio, ever. Now the College is seeking additional philanthropic support to realize the vision for the programs that will animate the buildings.
Working with recommendations from the English department, Kenyon is testing a noise-reduction system at the construction site next to Lentz. Outdoor-ready sound blankets will attach directly to the chain link fencing that marks the construction zone. If effective, the system may be used in future construction areas on campus. In addition, pedestrian pathways around Lentz have been rerouted to avoid the construction site.
Yes. According to Director of Green Initiatives David Heithaus ’99, a number of these trees are young or middle-aged landscaping trees planted after the construction of Horvitz Hall and Lentz House.
As part of Kenyon's tree-care plan, the College carefully manages the impact of construction with a goal of planting two trees for every one removed from the grounds. Trees to be removed include: